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Karzai meets with Obama

Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Washington, D.C. this week to discuss the progress of the war in Afghanistan and a long term partnership with the United States. Relations between Mr. Karzai and the White House have been under some strain as of late, raising the stakes considerably for his latest visit. In a prelude to garnering the support for his war supplemental bill in Congress, Obama has sought to demonstrate to lawmakers that a central tenant of counterinsurgency strategy: that of a stable and effective partner in Afghanistan is achievable. Obama said in a joint press conference Wednesday that disagreements between the two have been exaggerated.

As domestic attention is focused on the ongoing presence of terrorist plots against America, Obama and Karzai both reaffirmed the need to dismantle the insurgency in Afghanistan and from its safe havens in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

You canwatch Carl Forsberg discuss Karzai's visit to Washington on Atlantic Television News here. Additionally, if you missed Carl Forsberg’s presentation on Politics and Power in Kandahar, you can still watch the event on ISW’s website. Carl outlined some of his key findings on Kandahar.

While Afghanistan continues to be the hot topic this week, government and coalition building in Iraq continues amid violence and extensive political horse-trading. See Marisa Cochrane Sullivan’s newly released Fact Sheet: Ibrahim al-Jaafari for more background information on this possible candidate for the position of Prime Minister.